


You'll never know dear, how much I love you (Please don't take my sunshine away)

by VileValkyrie



Category: Guild Wars 2 (Video Game)
Genre: All or Nothing aftermath, Angst, Canach does feelings, Canach is a Good Bro, Post-Episode 5, This is just a bunch of angst, and no happy ending, and the commander is only slightly surprised, im so fucking sad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-11
Updated: 2019-01-11
Packaged: 2019-10-08 02:48:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,123
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17378171
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VileValkyrie/pseuds/VileValkyrie
Summary: She wanted to scream. To cry out as loudly as Taimi had, and never stop. But she was so cold. So numb. The raging storm building in her chest seemed to lodge somewhere in her body, unable to escape no matter how it battered and bruised her."It should have been me!"





	You'll never know dear, how much I love you (Please don't take my sunshine away)

**Author's Note:**

> Hey so Guild Wars 2 released the newest episode of Living World on the 8th and guess who got totally wrecked???  
> I'm emotionally compromised.  
> I cannot believe they've done this and I have immediately taken shelter in my Contingency Plans AU
> 
> This is just a short Thing for me to get out all the absolutely awful thing I have been feeling since playing through All or Nothing.

_“I don't know.”_

Taisie couldn't bear to stand there another moment, staring at the macabre, dangling remains of her scion.  
She was barely lucid enough to turn and stumble back the way she came, darkness creeping in at the edges of her vision. Behind her, Taimi still wailed and sobbed before Aurene's body. Gorrik stood at her back, hesitant and uncertain, and Caithe remained where she'd fallen, her eyes terribly glassy as she stared into empty hands. There were other cries, too, echoing out across the now Branded chamber, bouncing off each enormous crystal structure, warped and haunting. Kralkatorrik’s final attack had absolutely decimated the belly of Thunderhead Keep, and Taisie couldn't even begin to think about how many others must have died in it. 

Her fault.  
All her fault. 

_She_ had pushed for the battle to be here and now. _She_ had insisted that they could do it. _She_ had made them believe that they were ready!  
And now…  
Taisie squeezed her eyes shut, clenching her fists so hard she could feel her nails break through the softer flesh of her palm. Everything hurt. There were brand crystals lodged in her right leg, all the way down her calf, and rips littering the sensitive membrane of her wings. She was fairly certain she'd broken several ribs; she couldn't straighten her torso all the way, and every labored breath she took sent agony screeching through her body. Beyond that, she was covered in other, less severe wounds. Scratches and scrapes, long and ugly gashes where the swipes of an enemy’s claws had landed hard. She left a sticky trail of pale, golden sap where she walked, hobbling back down the unnatural corridor of purple crystal.  
She wanted to scream. To cry out as loudly as Taimi had, and never stop. But she was so _cold._ So numb. The raging storm building in her chest seemed to lodge somewhere in her body, unable to escape no matter how it battered and bruised her. And the tension within kept mounting, building with incredible speed and agony, until she collapsed to her knees, hunching over several paces from where Kralkatorrik had originally thrown her. 

Pale Mother, she couldn't _breathe!_

 _Coward!_ Something dark and oozing howled from the furthest reaches of her mind, _Couldn't bear to look at what your stupidity has wrought, could you?_

Distantly, Taisie acknowledged that she was choking. Thick, desperate, tearless sobs broke from her lips with a violence she couldn't tame, clogging her throat and rendering the simple act of breathing next to impossible.  
There was a flurry of activity at her side, a dark shape jogging through the mist that clouded her vision and kneeling down right in front of her. Firm hands pulled her upright, brushing the petals of her hair from her eyes, before taking her face and gently forcing her to look at them.  
Canach's grim expression glowered back at her. How he'd gotten here so fast, she'd never know.

“You have to breathe, Commander.” he said, and there was an undercurrent of concern hidden beneath all the caked on layers of snark and exasperation. 

Taisie tried to nod around the firm grip of his hands, ribs creaking and protesting with every pitiful, unsteady gasp she took.  
She could see the question in his eyes as he took in the devastation around them. He'd been outside the Keep, with Sayida and her corsairs, and away from the worst of the fighting when it had all gone wrong. His bombs had worked, though. They'd blown off the face if the mountain and trapped Kralkatorrik beneath, where Taisie and the rest of their gathered allies had attacked the beast's head with everything they had.  
_Everything_ they had...  
_And it still hadn't been enough!_

“We _had_ him!” she seethed, tearing away from his hands to pound her fist into the ground, not even deigning to wince as the blow immediately split her knuckles, “He was _dying!_ But-”

She broke off with another hollow sob, slowly drawing her hand back to her chest, trembling under the force of her rage and confusion. 

“She's gone.” Taisie whimpered, “Aurene is… she's dead.” 

_And it's your fault_ rasped the voice within, digging its barbs into her heart.

“It's my fault.” she gasped, a miserable echo and a tremulous confession all in one, “Oh… Oh _god._ It's my fault!” 

“Commander, that's-” Canach attempted to placate her. It was admirable, but she would hear none of it. 

_“It should have been me!”_

This time, he didn't say anything, scowling deeply as he reached for her shoulders. The press and dig of his fingers, while painful, grounded her as he gave her a firm shake. It was enough to get her to finally pause. To work at steadying herself before her mounting dizziness and lack of air stole what little consciousness she’d been able to keep a grip on.

“That's… enough.” he said, each word slow and carefully enunciated, “You can do nothing for her like this, Commander.”

He took a breath and seemed to physically shore up his own courage before he continued.

"You can't change what happened." he murmured, "Kralkatorrik is gone. Fled who knows where with that great crystal tail between his legs. You hit him hard... and I'd say he's on his last leg."

"But he still-"

"Yes, I know!" Canach growled, giving her another shake, "We're in shambles; it's the Jungle Dragon all over again. But you can't.... you can't focus on _that!"_

"Then what do you purpose I do, Canach?" she snarled, "Aurene is _dead!_ We can't do this without her! Even if we _could_ kill Kralkatorrik, without another dragon to absorb the energy, Tyria's magical balance would crumble. The entire world would be decimated!" 

And then, to her surprise, he pulled her to his chest and held her there.

"You need to focus on what you _can_ control, Commander." he said, "Or you're going to break."

A dam burst in her chest, a scorching burn settling low in her heart and chasing away the numbness that had gripped her the moment she’d seen Aurene, impaled and suspended on great spikes of Branded crystal. Liquid gathered in her eyes, before spilling over and leaving quiet, damp trails over her cheeks.

 _I’m so sorry, little one._  
The raw, severed end of her bond with the scion barely fizzled in response, like a wire shorting out. A pale imitation of the love and trust that once flowed across it.

Inside, she was keening. Inside, there was nothing to hold back the well of sharp, grief-stricken sound echoing from her heart. And now, there was no one to hear it. 

Taisie tucked her face into his shoulder and wept. 

"I... I think I already have."

**Author's Note:**

> God I'm still so sad.  
> But I didn't want to write about anyone telling the Commander to basically suck it up, because there are people counting on them.  
> There are _always_ people counting on them, and I feel like that constant source of pressure would be anything but motivating right now.  
> At the same time, I didn't want to write about someone spouting off grand plans for how to deal with all this. How they could revive Aurene or kill Kralk without the world exploding. Because I dont think that's what the Commander needs rn either.
> 
> So I chose Canach. Because he is very practical, and I feel like his advice for the Commander would be to steady themselves and focus on things they can directly influence rn. Like their own injuries, and the care of all the people that survived the fight.  
> Plus Canach genuinely cares about the Commander and no one can deny it. 
> 
> Idk just my take.
> 
> Also, a few short housekeeping notes  
> The next chapter of Legacy should be out within the next few days!!  
> This newest episode has prompted me to change a few things around in the story. But I can promise it's nothing too key, because I absolutely hate arbitrarily moving major shit around after I've already started on a project. Those who don't follow canon GW2 probably won't even notice.  
> That said, just uh  
> keep an eye out. We're getting there.


End file.
